Dumbarton clash on backburner as Bonnyrigg aim to claw back Kelty

The New Dundas Park men have played just two league fixtures in the past seven weeks due to their exertions in the Scottish Cup and Junior Cup, therefore losing ground in the title race with league leaders Kelty Hearts now ten points clear.

Rose missed out on the chance to cut Kelty’s lead when they were last in league action last month, losing 2-1 at Carnoustie, with Kelty drawing at home to Camelon on the same afternoon.

“The league is our bread and butter and that’s what we want to win because that got us in to the Scottish,” said Rose midfielder Kidd.

“The Scottish is on the back burner just now, it’s good to get back to league games and get some points on the board – we don’t want Kelty getting too far in front of us.

“It happened last year with Linlithgow, they went on a good run so they were playing catch up and you seen how hard it was for them. You want to keep in touch with the guys that are leading. It’s important we keep winning in the league.

“The last league game at Carnoustie was frustrating, especially with Kelty drawing that week. All the teams near the top keep winning. It’s hard to get the points on the board when you’ve got games in hand, especially if you’ve been playing in a big game in the Scottish and then you come back down to a league game – you might take it lightly.”

Rose certainly won’t be taking tomorrow’s opponents Hill of Beath lightly. The two side’s conjured up two five-goal thrillers last season with Bonnyrigg emerging as 3-2 victors on both occasions.

Tomorrow’s match is followed by a trip to Olivebank in the league, before Rose travel to Lanarkshire’s Thorniewood United in the Junior Cup and then host Championship Dumbarton in the Scottish Cup.

The minimum aim from their next two matches is six points as they can’t afford to lose further ground on Kelty, even at this early stage.

Rose are no longer an unknown quantity after they surged to the title last season and Kidd believes it’s become harder in games with their opponents happy to take a point from matches as they see Rose as a scalp.

He said: “Last year we were a new team put together with a new manager and people weren’t maybe expecting much from us so they maybe opened up against us thinking we were an easy game. Now they know what we are all about, teams sort of sit in against us now and they’re happy to come away from Bonnyrigg with a point. It’s important we start well in games and go about our business like we should.”

Kidd was the match-winner for Rose in round two of the Scottish Cup with a stunning effort at home to Cove Rangers, but he was brought back down to earth with a seat on the bench last week against Rossvale.

That didn’t faze him, however, as he was happy to get a rest and he’s fully understanding of manager Robbie Horn’s decision to rotate the squad with their extra workload this season.

He added: “You always want to play but it’s important you give guys who haven’t been playing a bit game time. It was good to get a rest actually, you feel fresh for training the next again week. There’s not a weak player in the squad, so if one player is replaced by another they are just as strong. It’s healthy to have competition, it keeps you on your toes.”

Elsewhere in the Super League, Bo’ness United face a tough game at home to joint-second Broughty, a game the BUs need to win if they have any title ambitions. New Linlithgow Rose manager Todd Lumsden takes charge of his first match as permanent boss as his side travel to Fauldhouse.

In the Premier League, Dalkeith Thistle host Haddington Athletic, while Tranent visit St Andrews United.